SHALL WE DANCE?
by max acorn
Summary: my submission for a PS contest. ash hates dancing and now he has to dance with his best friend. maybe at the end of the night, his opinion about it will change.


MA: hey peoples. Expecting another chapter of "ash and dawn: together"? Well, wait a little longer. Until I get enough reviews for it, I wont post it yet but its coming so keep your pants on. Until then, here's something to wet your whistle. Actually this is a submission for a PS contest on a forum that I go to. So, for the judges, I hope you enjoy this little one-shot I threw together. ON WITH THE FIC!

SHALL WE DANCE?

Dancing.

Dancing.

DANCING?

Who would've thought that one word could drive ash ketchum into such a corner. Now, there were very few things that terrified him: needles, losing his pokemon, not having enough food to eat and his mother mentioning to his friends about his...underwear. But at the top of his list was dancing. He hated dancing, mostly because he wasn't any good. He's enjoys silly dances, dances where everyone didn't have to worry about how good you are and just acting a fool. It was the formal stuff that sent a chill up his spine. So, why would he be worried about such things?

This train of thought began a few days ago. Ash received a special invite from the small town of rota to once again participate in the yearly "hero of aura" celebration. He had been there once when was traveling with may and max during this event and aside from the ensuing crisis involving the tree of beginnings, he enjoyed his time there. Deciding to take a break from his training and traveling, he agreed to the invite. Even more welcoming than the invite itself was the offer to once again assume his role of hero of the year. Normally, such a title needed to be earned via a intense pokemon tournament but the things that he had done during the previous celebration had earned him almost a permanent place as hero of the year. He didn't mind it so much, mostly because it meant all he had to do was just sit in his spot and preside over the annual ball and not dance. That was until a comment was made by his best friend dawn.

"Sounds fun. I expect to get the first dance with you, ash."

Ash couldn't even tell her that he wasn't suppose to dance but she was already on her merry way, hands behind her back and skipping along the way. Now, it wasn't the fact that she was going with him to the festival. On the contrary, he welcomed it. No, it was the fact that she thought she was going to dance. With him. At the dance. Is she crazy? Does she know how bad he is? He tried to break the new to her that he wasn't suppose to join the ball but he couldn't bring himself to tell her that. He couldn't deny her something she was looking forward, regardless of how much he was going to hate it.

As he got dressed in his costume for the ball, which was the same one he wore the last time, he felt a overwhelming sense of dread, like a death-row inmate readying himself to walk the last mile of his life. He had never danced with a girl, at least not in that way. Sure, misty had on many occasions all but dragged him into many dances, which led his dislike of dancing with a female partner. He knew he was going to have to do this, sooner or later, so earlier in the day, he asked brock and Gary for help and advice. Unfortunately, Gary's advice was limited to one single line:

"Don't step on her feat. For god's sake, don't step on the girl's feet."

After that bit of wisdom, he walked off, laughing all the way. Ash knew he wasn't doing it to be mean, just some good natured ribbing but he really needed help. Luckily, brock was just what he needed. It was a crash course of proper dancing, which consisted of the pallet town native tripping over his own feet and falling on the ground. The breeder tried his best but it was really a toss up to see if ash could actually pull it off. He just told him to have faith in himself and everything would turn out better than he thought.

And so we come to ash, sitting in the chair for the hero of the years, complete with the aura staff that belong to sir Aaron, and watching over the hoards of dancing people. The orchestra played a nice simple tune, perfect mingling but not yet for dancing so everyone was just talking with one another, enjoying the refreshed provided for them. He looked out over the sea of humanity and saw a few familiar faces: brock of course was chasing after everything in skirt, asking for dances. Gary was in the corner of the room, talking to someone who looked like zoey but it couldn't be her. No way. He caught sight of Kenny wandering the crowd, almost like he was looking for someone. The two locked eyes, to which the coordinator gave him a small wave, which he returned. Little did he know that the moment he turned his attention else where, Kenny was glaring daggers at him. Just then, he caught sight of misty, wearing a very fetching red dress. She smiled brightly at him from across the room, which he returned in kind. Oh god. He knew he was going to have to dance with her as well. Fate was being very cruel to him today. And just when it seemed like ash was ready to curse the gods for the unfortunate situation he was put in tonight...

She walked in.

She made her way through the crowd of people, trying not to mess up their pretty outfits. He couldn't see her yet but he could hear her, amazingly enough, through the cacophony of voices and music in the background. Finally, she came into view and he cursed himself for his good eye sight. She was wearing the dress. THE dress. The one dress he liked more than anything else in the world. It was the same silver dress she designed and wore for the heartholm collect contest a while back. It was a simple silver dress with matching shoes. Nothing more really. Many people would say its plain when compared her contest attire but that was the beauty of it. It was simple. It didn't need much to look great. It matched her hair and eyes perfectly, something ash could appreciate. He never told anyone this, but he always loved that dress, mainly because he thought it was perfect for her. He always thought dawn was very pretty, but in that dress, she was absolutely stunning to him. He felt a wave of heat slap him in the face, as he was noticeably blushing as red as a magmar. But he wasn't the only one feeling that heat as dawn took in how her best friend looked in his hero outfit. Now, a lot of people, misty and Kenny most notably, would think ash looked a bit silly in it, complete with the large hat, gloves, and cape. Not dawn. She found him to be dashing. That's the first word that popped into her mind when she saw him. Dashing, like a hero in a romance novel that house wives read during the day. Sure, he wasn't exactly the most buffed up person but for her, he pulled it off. She smiled a little and gave him a small wave, which he returned. Seemingly in something of a daze, he rose from his seat and walked down towards her, unaware of the glares he was getting from Kenny and misty.

"Hey."

"Hey." she said, taking in his full costumed appearance.

"Everyone was right. You do look like sir Aaron."

"Really? You think? I never thought so myself."

"You do but you look a little more dashing than he does, if I say so myself."

"Thanks. You look great yourself."

"Really? Its just this old dress I had on hand."

"Its ok. I've always like that dress." he said honestly, which caused her to giggle a bit. Their introduction was interrupted by the sudden change in the music. The tempo had changed into a quicker song, perfect for ball room dancing. As everyone in the crowd began to pair off, a cold sweat ran through his whole body.

"You remember your promise?"

"Uh...yeah...but dawn...I..uh...I don't know how to say this...I know you have been looking forward to this and—"

"I know you can't dance."

"Huh-what?"

"I said I know you can't dance."

"How?"

"I know you well enough, silly boy. You aren't the type to consider dancing important enough to learn. We don't really have to dance if you don't want to."

"No. No, I promise you the first dance and I mean it. So, lets get to it." he said, trying to sound confident but dawn knew he was nervous. She smiled a bit at this. This boy, who can take on gym battle after battle and face off against powerful pokemon without flinching, was a nervous wreck at the challenge of a simple dance.

"Come on. I'll teach you." she spoke, taking his hand and guiding him to the dance floor.

"But brock taught me a little."

"There is a difference between a boy teaching you and a girl teaching."

They reached a small area in the center of the storm of dancing couples around them. She stood in front of him, like a teacher readying herself to tutor a shy student.

"Ok. First, put your hand on my hip."

"W-what?"

"You heard me. Put your hand on my hip." she instructed, taking his hand and placing it on her hip. Ash looked as if someone shot him in a dark alley. He had never touched a girl like this, least of all, dawn of all people. He wanted to move his hand. He wanted to say he shouldn't be touching her liked that but strangely, he found he couldn't move it. It was like it was glued to her body. What's more, he liked it.

"Ash..." she said, waking him from his touch induced trance.

"Oh sorry."

"Its ok. Now, take my hand with your other hand."

He did as he was told, taking her smaller hand in his own as she placed her free hand on his shoulder. Her hand was so soft. He never noticed this before, even though they traded high fives a lot. It was like he was holding silk wrapped in water. No! No! Focus, ash. This isn't the time to be admiring how friggin' soft her hands are.

"ok, now what?"

"Alright, you just have to step where I step and keep in rhythm with the music."

"Easier said than done."

"Its not that bad, ash. Ok, now step with me..."

He laughed nervously as she began to move with her, the words of his childhood friend replaying in his head. Don't step on her toes. Don't step on her toes. For god's sake, do not step on her toes. He didn't want to step on her toes. Not dawn. Dawn would hate him forever if she did.

"You're doing great ash. Keep it up."

Her voice pulled him out of his mental torture and allowed him to see how he was doing. Despite not really thinking about it, his feet were smoothly but slowly following hers. He looked at the other couples and realized he was actually moving in sync with them and the music. Ash ketchum was...dancing. With dawn. He looked her with a edger smile, all his nervousness gone from his body and noticed that she was still smiling back at him, like a proud parent.

"Dawn...I'm dancing. I really am dancing!" he exclaimed with joy.

"Of course you are. I knew you'd be good. You are just a natural at this."

"Yeah I guess I am." he said, with his big goofy grin rising on his face. She loved that grin. It made her feel warm inside, like everything would be ok if she closed her eyes and drifted into a endless sleep. The sway and motion of the dance put them both in a trance of sorts. In a state of utter euphoria for them. Neither noticed that they had stopped talking or looking over to see the other people on the dance floor. Nor did they notice that they were looking into each others eyes. Deep ocean blue merged with dark chocolate brown as their bodies went into autopilot, gliding over the floor like a pair of clouds passing over a clear sky. For them, no one else was in the room. Hell, the castle didn't even exist. It was just them and this seemingly eternal dance of two similar souls. This didn't go unnoticed by the people around them. Many of the couples couldn't help but smile at the sight of the two. Among the watchers were two people who had a vested interested in their relationship.

"So what do you think?" Gary asked his red headed companion.

"He's doing pretty good. Didn't think ash had it in him." zoey answered with a smirk.

"Seems like it was a good idea to talk the mayor into inviting him back here."

"Yep. This will go a long way to those two finally hooking up. So what advice did you give him?"

"Nothing much. Just told him not to step on her toes."

"HAHAHAHA! No wonder he was so nervous at the start! You're mean!"

"He had to learn the hard way, zoey."

"So, when are you gonna dance with me, professor?"

"Oh? You want me to take your hand, my lady? I thought you were here for dawn?"

"Dawn is taken care off. Now, you have to take care of me."

"Very well then. Shall we?"

"Lead the way."

As the co-conspirators made their way to the dance floor, another pair of eyes watching the scene unfold between ash and dawn but more specifically, dawn herself. He found out that she was going to be at the festival and decided to take this opportunity to spend some time and spy on dawn. He pushed his glasses up on his face as a creepy grin rose on his face, leering at her form swaying back and forth across the floor.

"Very impressive ash, but in the end, I'll be the one to sweep her off her feet. I can't lose with my skills." Conway said to himself, carefully plotting what he planned to do this evening. He wasn't the only one who wanted to have a round with dawn. Kenny was seething. He was sure this was his time with dawn but once again, ash got in his way. If looks could kill, ash would be a walking corpse by now.

"Its always him. He's in my way. Why? Why can't he just go away and be with that red head chick? Dawn is mine and I'll show him up tonight." he muttered to himself, his fist clenched and turning white with suppressed rage. His thoughts were shared by the aforementioned red headed water trainer. She was biting on her nails as she watched her ash dancing with that blue hair girl he is always with. She bought a new dress and had her hair fixed just for him to notice but any notice he had went out the window when she came into the picture.

"How dare she! She doesn't know him like I do! Go back to your region and your contest and leave him to me! I'm not losing to you!" she mumbled to herself, shooting glares of rage at the girl. After about five minutes, the song came to a end, causing the dance partners to split apart and applaud in appreciation of the performance. Ash and dawn were the last to break apart, however reluctantly.

"Wow...that was great, ash."

"Thanks. I didn't know I had it in me."

"See? You were better than you thought."

"Well, I had a good reason to be good tonight." he said with wink. Just then, misty walked over, a bit quicker than she normally would.

"Hey ash. That was incredible! I didn't know you knew how to ball room dance." she said, all but ignoring dawn.

"I don't really. This was my first time." he said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Really? Could've fooled me. How did you get so good so fast?"

"Well...I had a excellent instructor." he replied, shooting a smile to dawn, who just smiled back at him. While she was smiling on the outside, misty was raging on the inside. Part of her wanted to punch dawn in her pretty blue eye and tell her that ash was hers but she knew well enough that he would hate her forever if she did. She'd have to be stupid not to see that there was a bond between them but it didn't stop her but trying to break it.

"Since your dance card is free, how about you show me those moves up front?"

"You sure? But dawn and I..."

"Its ok, ash. Show her what you've learned." she answered with a wink.

"See? She said its ok. Come on and lets cut a rug." she said, dragging a hapless ash by the arm as the band began to play a new song. He barely had enough time to mouth the words 'be right back' to dawn before he vanished in the growing crowd of people.

"Looked good out there, DEE DEE."

Dawn didn't even need to turn around to know who it was. There was only one person there who would knew her embarrassing nickname or would dare to call her that.

"I told you not to call me that, Kenny." she growled as she turned to meet him.

"Relax dawn. You know I'm just joking but for real, you were amazing out there."

"Thanks. Its all about having the right partner."

He didn't even have to ask who she was talking about. Even when he isn't there, he is still coming between them.

"Say, I've been taking lessons. How about show you what I've learned? I betcha I'm better than ash."

"Hmmmm you think so? Well, let's put that to the test but be warned, you got a tough act to follow."

"Awwww, please ash! Just dance with us once more!"

"Sorry ladies! Just give me a few minutes and I'll get right back to you."

It was a interesting scene to say the least. A crowd of women of various backgrounds and ages reaching for poor ash. It seems he made quite a splash as a dancer as many females lined up to dance with the "hero of the year". It was something ash wasn't expecting nor really welcome but he danced with as many as he could, just to be polite, but eventually even someone as energetic as he is was feeling the strain. So he found his way onto the balcony of the castle, enjoying the break away from the hoards of female dance partners, particularly misty, who was adamant on being the one he danced with the most. With a exhale of breath, he rested his elbows on the edge of the balcony as he took in the beautiful land around the town as well as the sight of the natural wonder that was the tree of beginnings. Almost immediately, memories of his last visit to rota flooded into his mind: lacera's returned from being sealed inside of the staff that belong to sir Aaron, encountering mew, journeying to the tree of beginnings, bonding with lacera, facing off against the three guardians of the tree, and learning about his talent for 'aura', the super natural power that sir Aaron was a master of. He had always thought that he should explore more about this power that slept inside of him but he had little to no one to ask about it, so he didn't think much about.

"Tired already?"

He jumped a little as he followed the source of the voice. It was dawn, sitting on the edge of the balcony, with her back to the scenic view.

"I must be since I didn't even know you were there." he answered, relaxing a bit more than he already was.

"You seem quite popular with the women."

"Tell me about it. It was crazy. I don't think they are gonna leave me alone until I dance with all of them. And misty was no better."

"Oh? How so?"

"She wanted to dance with me on every song and when we did, she was all clingy and forceful. It was like I was dancing with a primape and my back is killing me." he complained, cracking his back.

"Sounds rough."

"At least you had a easier time."

"Says who? Kenny was painful to dance with! He kept stepping on my foot and he didn't seem to notice. Why do you think I'm out here?" she said, drawing his attention to her left good. Her shoe was off, revealing her red and slightly swollen foot.

"Ouch. That looks bad."

"This is nothing compared to what Conway did." she said, a angry scowl on her face showing her displeasure.

"Conway? He's here? I didn't even see him."

"Yeah, he's here. He asked me to dance after Kenny was done. He was doing better that him but then he tried to cop a feel off my butt. At first I thought it was just an accident but he kept doing it. Creepy jerk!" she spat, her venom targeted at the bespectacled trainer. Ash was just as angry. For some reason, the idea of someone doing something like that to dawn made his blood boil. Now, normally he wasn't a physically violent person but at that moment, he wanted to beat him to death with his bare hands.

"Where is he? I'll kill him!" he growled.

"Its ok. I took care of it."

"You did? How?"

"Let's just say, don't be surprised when the next time you see him, he'll be talking about 5 octaves higher than normal."

That revelation calmed the pallet town trainer down a bit and even brought a smile on his face. As much as he worried over her at times, he remembered that when push came to shove, dawn can take care of herself. He often forgets that fact when faced with her gentle and caring appearance and personality.

"Well, we certainly had some interesting dance partners tonight."

"Tell that to my poor foot. Ow!"

"You ok?"

"Yeah. Just stings a bit. God, I really do not want to go back in there."

"You're telling me. Those women will eat me alive!"

"Nothing we can do. We are gonna have to go back sooner or later."

"Maybe...we don't have to go back in."

"What?"

"Feel up for a little hike?"

"A hike?"

"Just a small walk in the woods. I know a place we can hide for a while. Its not far and no one knows about it but me."

"I don't know. My foot is still pretty sore."

"Would you rather go back to the foot stomper and mr. Grabby hands?"

"...lead the way."

The hike through the surrounding forest wasn't as bad as dawn thought. She enjoyed the scenery and the abundant types of different pokemon that populated the trees around them. She did have a bit a time walking with her sore foot but ash was considerate enough to support her and help her along the path. Where was he taking? She had asked him a few times but all he said was 'you'll see'. Her natural curiosity was getting the better of her. Sure, her foot was still sore but each step was worth it to know where he was taking her.

"Well, we're here."

They arrived in a small clearing with a patch of soft grass, with a waterfall near by that flowed into a small stream next to the clearing. The trees gave way to allow a clear view of the night sky, with the tree of beginnings looming over all like a ever present guardian. She had never been this close to the tree and it was much larger than she originally thought. The sounds of the various pokemon added just enough background noise to complete the scene.

"Ash...this is wonderful."

"Thanks. I knew you'd like it."

"But how did you find this place?"

"When I was traveling with lacera, he told me about this spot. He said that it was his calm spot. A place for him to relax from his training with sir Aaron. I've been wanting to come here for a while but I figured this was as good a time as any."

"You're right. I feel more relaxed already."

"If you think that's something, you ain't seen nothing yet." he said, looking down at his watch.

"What are you talking about?"

"Just wait another 10 seconds. Trust me, it will be worth it."

"What are you–"

"Shhh. Here it comes."

Before she could inquire any further, at that moment, every pokemon in the forest sudden went completely silent. The silence that followed was very eerie to her. She had never heard of a whole forest going quiet like this. But just as she was about to ask what was going on, that's when she heard it. It was like a low humming sound, definitely pokemon in origin but she couldn't tell what was making it. Soon, a slightly high pitch hum joined the first one. Before she knew it, they were a symphony of sounds coming from all around him. She couldn't believe it. It was almost as if every creature in the forest was singing and in perfect harmony. It was so harmonious and perfect. How could so many different pokemon sound this good? Ash elbowed her lightly and drew her attention to the tree of beginnings. At first, the bluette thought she was seeing things but after a few seconds of adjusting her vision, she saw that the massive tree was in fact swaying a little. Not much for something its size but it was still noticeable. As it moved back and forth, it began to emit rays of light. It was a calliope of colors, painting the night sky like a painter running his brush over the canvas of the night. Dawn was in awe, to say the least. The atmosphere of light and sound was giving her a high unlike anything she felt before.

"The pokemon are singing to the tree, in gratitude to it for providing a home and support for them. In return, the tree responds to the singing with this 'light show' or sort."

"Ash...I don't know what to say. Thank you for sharing this with me." she said, almost on the verge of tears.

"Its nothing really." he replied with a smile.

"Say, you want to dance again? We got some great music to groove to."

She didn't need another invite from him. Sore foot or not, she was going to take advantage of this wonderful scene. He drew her into the small clear and took the same pose as before but dawn had different ideas. She placed both his hands on her hips and wrapped her hands around the back of his neck, drawing close to him. Almost on instinct, the duo became to sway softly from side to side, mirroring the movements of the gigantic tree. She rested her head on his chest while he placed his chin on top of her head. He inhaled deeply, taking in the sweet scent of her hair. God, she smelled good. How can someone smell this good? It should be a crime. A crime that she is utterly guilty of. Dawn's head was swimming as she felt his body heat mix with hers. It was just like back at the castle but this time, it was truly just them and the world. Ash's hands lightly rubbed her back while her thumb rubbed the back of his neck.

"This is nice."

"Mmmhmmm"

Without a word of warning, dawn kissed ash's cheek. He was surprised but didn't break the embrace.

"What was that for?"

"That was for showing me this place. And this..."she said, kissing his other cheek.

"...was for getting me out of there."

The pallet town native grinned at the feeling of her lips on his cheek. She then looked up at him, blue eyes meeting brown ones again and kissed him lightly on the lips. For the first 5 seconds, he was frozen in shock that she was kissing him but soon, he leaned into the kiss. There was no tongue or overt passion. It was just a simple, airy kiss between them.

"And what was that for?"

"For not stepping on my toes." she said, getting a deep throaty laugh from her male friend. She sighed happily as she buried her face in his neck as he pulled her closer to his body.

"You ready to go back?"

"No. Not yet. Let's stay here for a while. I'm enjoying this too much."

And so they stayed like that, they sense blurring from the sounds and sight, their scents mingling and mixing to form a new smell that only the pokemon around could smell, and the body heat merging into a small inferno of closeness and affection. They knew they would have to go back, less certain began to look for them and interrupt this moment of bliss but for now, this was their time. No one else could exist here, with them, at this single, beautiful moment. And ash thought finally that maybe, just maybe, dancing wasn't as bad as he thought.

Dancing.

Dancing.

Dancing...with dawn.

Well, that's my submission. Took me a whole week to get the story down but I like it. I apologize if I got some stuff wrong with the dancing parts. I suck as a dancer myself. So I hope you enjoyed this little one-shot. Now its time to get back to work on my ongoing fic.

LATER FICCERS!


End file.
